Biography of G. W. Stewart

Abstract

If one is asked to name the most influential people in numerical linear algebra, then Pete (G.W.) Stewart would come very high on the list. Pete has had a major influence on the field and, in several ways, on my own career. It is with great pleasure that I pen these words as a biography and tribute to him. I am grateful to Pete not only for spending the time to discuss his life with me but also for going carefully over a draft and finding many instances where accuracy had been sacrificed for the sake of the narrative. I should, however, stress that any rounding errors that remain are purely my responsibility but hopefully do not now contaminate the result.